Buying a larger house than needed - things to be aware of?

bitsandpieces

I'm thinking about buying a house that's a good bit larger than I currently need - it's a large 4 bed house, while it's currently just me and sometimes my partner who'd stay there. I work from home often (so want 1 spare bedroom as an office) but I'd still end up with an extra spare bedroom that's only used by occasional visitors, and the 4th bedroom pretty much never used. We're hoping to have kids in the future, but not straight away (and, of course, plans like this are never guaranteed).

I know that, if I did go for it, I'd be paying more council tax, gas and home insurance than in a smaller place. Maintenance costs would also be higher, and more space to keep clean. Any other downsides I'm missing? On the plus side, I'd never need to move for extra space, unless something really unexpected happened! I think that mortgage and other costs should be affordable, though more than my current (very low) rent.

I'm considering buying somewhere that's too large in some ways because it's a very nice but unusual house, and well-priced compared to flats in similar location and of similar standard (I could end up paying 25% less and getting something half the size, which would be a bit smaller than I'd ideally want). I know that buying something too big does have downsides though. Any thoughts are welcome!

getmore4less

If not carefull you can expand your contents to fill the space.

Make sure the outside space is right and plenty of parking garage etc.

Dressing room can make use of a spare bedroom.


We had to go to 4 bedrooms to get the downstairs space we wanted.


To offset costs always room for a lodger, short term mon-Fri can work if you want to keep more personal space/time.

ashe

We are doing this too. We don't plan on having kids. Ht guest rooms are handy, I work from home so an office is a must, and we would both benefit from the space. Everyone keeps telling us to go for a two bedroom but then the house as a whole is smaller and there aren't many good sizes two bedroom detatched houses!

bitsandpieces

Thanks for the replies. It already has a dressing room (and good size bedrooms) - which is a positive thing, but means I think I really would end up with one bedroom spare! It would give me space for a lodger if I needed the money in future, and it's a nice option to have, but I'd prefer not to take on a lodger (and the fact I'm buying in a cheap-ish part of the country - which is why I can afford the large house - also means that neither a lodger nor airbnb would bring in all that much money).

silvercar

Greater upkeep, more cleaning, including the garden.

Irritating small things, like wifi and cordless landline reaching all parts of the house and garden. Aerial splitters/ extra set-top boxes. Heating rooms you are not using to keep the house warm. Hearing the doorbell in all parts of the house. Too many exit doors, with too many keys.

Friends and relatives always assuming you are delighted for them to visit.

More places to lose things!

PhilE

bitsandpieces wrote: »

I'm thinking about buying a house that's a good bit larger than I currently need - it's a large 4 bed house, while it's currently just me and sometimes my partner who'd stay there. I work from home often (so want 1 spare bedroom as an office) but I'd still end up with an extra spare bedroom that's only used by occasional visitors, and the 4th bedroom pretty much never used. We're hoping to have kids in the future, but not straight away (and, of course, plans like this are never guaranteed).

I know that, if I did go for it, I'd be paying more council tax, gas and home insurance than in a smaller place. Maintenance costs would also be higher, and more space to keep clean. Any other downsides I'm missing? On the plus side, I'd never need to move for extra space, unless something really unexpected happened! I think that mortgage and other costs should be affordable, though more than my current (very low) rent.

I'm considering buying somewhere that's too large in some ways because it's a very nice but unusual house, and well-priced compared to flats in similar location and of similar standard (I could end up paying 25% less and getting something half the size, which would be a bit smaller than I'd ideally want). I know that buying something too big does have downsides though. Any thoughts are welcome!

Maintenance costs aren't necessarily more expensive, depends on the condition of the house and if your the sort of person who looks after your house.

You can always just heat the room your in sometimes to keep the heating costs down.

Red-Squirrel_2

Don't let your extra bedroom just turn into a dumping ground or wasted space. Think of a purpose for it. Do you have a hobby you could use it for? Musical instruments? Hundreds of books or vinyl records or collectibles to display? Is it big enough to be a mini home cinema with a projector and some comfy chairs? Have you ever fancied keeping tropical fish or tarantulas? Home gym if you like that sort of thing? Is the view out the window good enough to get a decent telescope set up? How about a 50 shades of grey style playroom?

stueyhants

Are you really sure this house will be the right house for the future, is it near good schools? Will you be constantly being taxi service to the kids inthe future as you live to far to walk to anything ? Is it cheap for a reason?

Buy the best you can is a good plan as it saves on moving costs and stamp duty which is a killer, but just make sure it will be a the right house in the future.

glasgowdan

A slightly larger house doesn't have significantly higher running costs. Our home insurance in a detach 4 bed is the same as it was in a 3 bed semi with half the floor space. Energy bills are £30/month more.

It sounds like a smart decision for the future.

Davesnave

If you can afford it now and it suits your lifestyle, go for it.

For every move, a minor fortune in SDLT, legals and other costs is paid out and much inward investment into a property may be lost. I know people think they get back what they put in as regards money spent on improvements, but much of this thinking is delusional, especially if they then start customising the new house!

It will take a long time before slightly higher fuel, council tax and other bills overtake the cost of moving twice as a family expands.

Onwards_and_upwards

We bought a four bedroom house when there were just the two of us. 10 years down the line, with two kids, it's feeling small and cluttered! Just bought a six bedroom house (with a separate study) - a room for us, one each for the kids, guest bedroom, kids' 'den' and ?? - we also don't know what we'll use the last one for. Isn't stopping us from buying it, am sure we'll find a use for it. Will probably stick an extra bed in it for the few times we have more than one set of visitors. Go for it and enjoy all the space a bigger house will offer you pre-kids!!